Free Republic

Today once more we start with the ever-important undercurrents, which are the actual significant drivers of the developments beyond the ongoing tactical vagaries of the battlefield. Putin had a meeting with Erdogan where he reiterated Russia’s stance on the grain deal—that it cannot go forward until Russia’s demands are resolved. Putin mostly spoke about the economic factors related to this, however adjacently Shoigu released a statement on the military side; namely, that part of the deal was Ukraine cannot build or launch offensive naval drone strikes from the port areas, which he says they have been doing. But beneath this...

Ben Hodges tells DW he remains optimistic of Ukraine's prospects for victory over the next 12 months. Speaking to Tim Sebastian for a Conflict Zone special, the former US Army Europe commander said it might be “too early to plan a victory parade" but Ukraine had made “irreversible gains.” Hodges also said he expected Ukrainian forces to retake Crimea from Russia in 2023. Moscow illegally annexed the territory in 2014. Let us know what you think in the comments below and thanks for watching.

This is a summary / SITREP of Day 104-105's development in the Ukraine-Russia war as we start off the day in the morning (ukraine time) of Day 106 of Russian's "Special Operation" against Ukraine.

Okaloosa Sheriff tweeted a photo of a group of people arrested on St. Patrick's Day, reminding everyone that they have "zero tolerance" for underage drinking.

Diplomatic revolt. Over 50 U.S. diplomats have signed an internal State Department memo sharply critical of the Obama administration’s Syria policy, in which they call for airstrikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The memo says Washington’s Syria policy has been “overwhelmed” by the continuing slaughter of civilians in Syria, and demands “a judicious use of stand-off and air weapons, which would undergird and drive a more focused and hard-nosed U.S.-led diplomatic process.” The memo, sent along an established “dissent channel” within State that allows officials to vent frustrations and suggest changes in policy, would flip the existing...

Instead of being a meaningful policy address, the speech has devolved into political theater — an opportunity for the president to look, well, presidential. And as if a prime time speech, covered by all the major networks, with the entire Congress as his backdrop wasn’t enough, there’s another theatrical aspect: The guests in the first lady’s box.

One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It’s time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents. Over the last several weeks, I worked with NBC News to publish a series of articles about “dirty trick” tactics used by GCHQ’s previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group). These were based on four classified GCHQ documents presented to the NSA and the other three partners in...

MILINET:A Marine's Eye-View Of Baghdad--SgtMaj Jack Du Bois,USMC (Ret.) Thought you may be interested in my fast trip to Baghdad to see if all was ok or if the news was being cautious about its condition. I am happy to report that all is OK in Baghdad and the news media is not reporting it's currant condition. As I entered Baghdad I saw a bunch of people with German Shepherd dogs along the road. This explained the fine condition of the road. These bomb sniffing dogs keep the bombs at bay and the road was in excellent shape. As I...

1/12/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Airmen of the 7th Expeditionary Air Command and Control Squadron from this air base in Southwest Asia provide constant situational ground assessment from the air to coalition forces supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Inside the E-8C Joint STARS, the aircrew give airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance throughout the entire area of responsibility. "We are there every day for long periods of time. Our presence provides an in-depth understanding of how things are moving on the ground." said Lt. Col. Mack Easter, the 7th EACCS commander. By using...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday that an armed encounter between Venezuelan soldiers and unidentified armed fighters occurred along the Venezuela-Colombia border during which one person was killed

This email from a guy who is there.. No politics here, just a Marine with a bird's eye view opinion: 1) The M-16 rifle : Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sand over there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy 2 minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more popular because it's lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems also. They like the ability to mount the various optical gunsights and weapons lights on the picattiny rails, but the weapon itself is not great in a desert...

By Peter Felstead, JDW Special Correspondent, Baghdad To the soldiers of the US-led coalition in Iraq, the political arguments over Operation 'Iraqi Freedom' - that the war may have been mis-sold and that weapons of mass destruction may in fact not exist - are irrelevant. What matters is that Iraq has been crippled by a cruel regime and more than a decade of sanctions. The mission of coalition troops - to provide a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi people - means they are playing a major role in putting Iraq back on its feet. The 2nd Brigade Combat...

.NOTE 1: Please excuse the rough language and politically incorrect mannerisms and statements. The letter is produced as distributed and not edited in any way. It Ain't Necessarily So. Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2003, 11:09:09 GMT Hey Guys, sorry it's been so long since I've sent anything but a quick note to you individually. However things have been pretty hectic since the end of hostilities and the start of the real war. Despite what the assholes in the press like to say over and over: 1) We did expect some armed resistance from the Ba'ath Party and Feydaheen; 2) It...

A Soldier's View from the Iraqi FrontBy JINSA.orgJINSA.org | July 23, 2003 JINSA Editorial Note: Mindful of the time it took American occupation forces to begin to straighten out Germany and Japan (civilians starved to death in the winter of 1946 in Berlin and the Marshall Plan wasn't operative until '48), we have been reluctant to criticize post-war Iraq. Also, we aren't there and are skeptical of the media that is there, so we haven't said much about the day-to-day operations. Receiving this via a JINSA Flag & General Officers Trip participant who vouches for its authenticity, we thought we...

This one's from a different source, so I can't vouch for the authenticity.

A Brigade Commander's perspective of the situation in Baghdad. **************************************************************************** ********* Greetings from Central Baghdad. I took command of the _________________; since then I have had two soldiers killed in firefights. The Special Opns folks call my sector east of the Tigris River "The Hot Box," due to the number of engagements in it on a daily basis. I move around the city escorted by a Personal Security Detachment in two HMMWVs with machine guns mounted. They have fits when I dismount (kinda like the Secret Service around the President, except the chances of getting shot at here at much,...